September Marked Farewells to Two Influential Figures in Djamila Ribeiro’s Life

Redação

October 1, 2026

Zélia Amador de Deus and Amelinha Teles were mentors, role models, and sources of affection in the philosopher’s development

September marked the loss of two influential figures in Djamila Ribeiro’s life: Zélia Amador de Deus, a professor and Black rights activist, and Amelinha Teles, a writer and human rights activist.

On September 8, Djamila announced Zélia’s death on Instagram. Zélia was a professor emerita at the Federal University of Pará (UFPA) and a founder of the Center for the Study and Defense of Black People of Pará (Cedenpa). Djamila wrote, using the term Orun for the spiritual realm in Candomblé and other Yoruba-based religions:

“Today, our beloved Zélia Amador de Deus went to Orun, a source of pride for Pará and Brazil. Professor Emerita at UFPA, founder of Cedenpa, and responsible for implementing essential public policies for Black, Indigenous, and quilombola [maroon-descended] populations. An indispensable reference.”

On September 15, she paid tribute to Amelinha, a founder of the União de Mulheres de São Paulo (São Paulo Women’s Union):

“When I learned of her passing today, I was on a flight and could not hold back my tears. Amelinha Teles, who stood up to the military dictatorship, a leading feminist, founder of União de Mulheres. A woman of struggle, she created the essential project ‘Promotoras Legais Populares’ and dedicated her life to defending women and democracy.”

Zélia Amador de Deus and the Paths Opened by Exu

Zélia was born in the quilombola territory of Mangueiras, on Marajó Island, and made the university a site of struggle. She was the first Black faculty member to receive the title of professor emerita at UFPA, where she also served as vice president, and she helped found Cedenpa, a leading organization defending Black people and quilombola communities in Pará. An actor, theater director, and writer, she credited her grandmother, who raised her, with shaping her political consciousness.

Djamila shared details of a 2019 encounter with Zélia at the Pan-Amazonian Book Fair, where the professor was the honoree. Zélia invoked Exu, an orisha (deity) of Candomblé and other Afro-Brazilian religions:

“She came to meet me, we talked, and she told me: ‘Djamila, Exu is the lord of the paths. With his aggressiveness, he opened trails across the diaspora. We need to remain insurgent bodies, bodies that unsettle and open up spaces. We cannot bow our heads. Be as aggressive as Exu and open your paths.'”

Djamila said those words were important to her own path:

“She saw me, truly saw me, welcomed me, and gave me direction.”

She also recalled writing two columns in Folha de S.Paulo, a major Brazilian daily, in Zélia’s honor: one in 2019 and another on the day of their last meeting, two weeks before Zélia’s death. She said she was glad to have honored her while she was alive:

“I was with her two weeks ago. We had breakfast together, we talked, I brought flowers in the color of Nanã, her orisha, and received her blessing. Without knowing it, that was our goodbye.”

“[…] Today, despite the sadness, I celebrate her life and existence, whose legacy will remain forever. Long live Zélia, our heir to Ananse [a spider figure of West African folklore], who returns to the primordial clay of her mother, Nanã,” Djamila concluded.

Amelinha Teles and the Political Education of Generations of Women

Amelinha Teles embodied the connection between defending democracy and fighting for women’s rights. She was arrested in 1972 with her husband, César Teles, and her sister, who was pregnant, and taken to the Operação Bandeirante (Oban), a repression unit of the military dictatorship in São Paulo. Decades later, a lawsuit filed by the Teles family led a court to recognize Army Colonel Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra as a torturer. Djamila and Amelinha’s relationship spanned training sessions at the União de Mulheres, feminist gatherings, and key moments in the academic career of the author of Lugar de Fala (Place of Speech).

“How much I learned from you, Amelinha. You saw me as a ‘girl,’ taught me so much, helped me grow, and taught me to face the world. From meetings with your beloved César Teles, to training sessions at União de Mulheres, to feminist gatherings, to your presence at my master’s qualifying exam and your support when a professor on the committee treated me with disrespect: you asked to speak and said, ‘Djamila, the activists liked it!'” the philosopher wrote.

In the feminist movement, Amelinha worked with the newspaper Brasil Mulher (Brazil Woman), took part in the movement for daycare centers, and joined the Lobby do Batom (“Lipstick Lobby”), a nonpartisan campaign by women during the 1987–1988 National Constituent Assembly. She was also a key figure in creating the Promotoras Legais Populares (Community Legal Advocates), an initiative that trains women, mainly from low-income communities, on their rights and on access to justice. Her book Breve história do feminismo no Brasil (A Brief History of Feminism in Brazil) is also among the works Djamila cites in her own writing.

“There is a framed piece of yours at Espaço Feminismos Plurais, with the phrase that taught us so much: ‘Being a feminist means taking an uncomfortable stance.’ For you, we will keep making people uncomfortable. We owe you so much. And we will love you forever!” Djamila posted.

The legacies of Zélia and Amelinha are already taking concrete form. In the northern state of Pará, a bill introduced by state legislator Lívia Duarte of the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL) proposes recognizing Zélia’s literary work as part of the state’s Intangible Cultural Heritage. Meanwhile, the Auto do Círio, a street pageant in Belém that precedes the Círio de Nazaré religious festival and an outreach program of UFPA that Zélia helped found, paid tribute to her at the launch of its 32nd edition on September 13. The pageant will take place on October 9 in Belém’s Cidade Velha neighborhood.

In Franco da Rocha, in Greater São Paulo, the fifth class of Community Legal Advocates in the Juquery Basin region graduated on September 29. It had 21 women, the largest in the region, and the ceremony included a tribute to Amelinha.

Translated by AI